Paul Heyman and CM Punk became aligned on WWE programming beginning in 2012. The two had a history dating back to Punk’s time in OVW from 05-06, however.
In a recently released clip from a 2016 with Inside the Ropes interview, Heyman spoke about what he said to Punk before their on-screen alliance in WWE.
“I look over at him at he says ‘Can you believe they’re f***ing putting us together?’ And I’m like ‘We’re both gonna be f***ing fired in the next four weeks, don’t you get it?’ And he goes ‘But the s**t we’re going to stir in four weeks, they don’t f***ing have a clue!’ I loved working with him, I loved it. I had the time of my life.”
Heyman would continue to talk about how much he enjoyed this period in his career. Unfortunately, Punk’s career only had about 1.5 years left at that point.
“We had a blast working with each other because, just like me, he had no idea what he was going to say when he went out to the ring. He was just doing it, you know, allegedly shoot promos that then get wrapped around into the storyline that we’re telling that he fervently believed in his heart that he was telling the truth.”
New Day are arguably the greatest tag-team in WWE history. There are some significant statistics to back this theory up. They are 10x tag-team champions, including having the longest single-reign of tag-team titles in WWE history. Also, Kofi Kingston is the only wrestler in WWE history to have held a tag-team title for more than 1000 combined days. They are easily 1st ballot hall-of-famers as a team.
According to Paul Heyman, however, Big E‘s potential as a singles wrestler eclipses what New Day has already accomplished. Heyman noted on Talking Smack recently that he feels Big E’s time in New Day will only be a footnote in his career overall.
Heyman had the following to say to Big E on the show:
“This Big E, a focused Big E, a singles championship-minded Big E, has so much potential that 10 years from now, as your story is being written, they will all say that the accomplishments that you did with the New Day pale by respectful comparison to the accomplishments that you will pull off on your own,” Heyman said to Big E on the show.
“What you are going to accomplish in the next 10 years will be mind-boggling, sir. And I’m looking forward to seeing it, as is everybody else. But you have to accept in your heart that the New Day will only be a footnote in the story of the greatness of Big E.”
“If I may prove to my case to you, I ask you a rhetorical question: When was the last time you saw Roman Reigns in the ring and anybody even bothered to mention the Shield?”
At this point, Big E fell silent as the weight of Heyman’s words sunk in.
There was an entertaining segment during Saturday’s episode of WWE Talking Smack between Paul Heyman and Kevin Owens.
It all started when Heyman shared the respect that he has for Owens and he understands how dangerous Owens is. He brought up being a fan of Owens’ before he got to WWE and even after he joined the company.
Heyman stated that while Owens is the #1 contender to the Universal Title, he sees that Owens is at a crossroads in his career. However, Heyman thinks that if Owens wants to get to the main event level then he would need to go through Roman Reigns.
Owens responded by talking about how Heyman only works for himself and declared himself as being the person to take the Universal Title from Reigns.
Heyman ended the segment before Owens walked off by stating that he has to shake his hand so he doesn’t get smacked as he’s carrying a message. He made Owens know that this wasn’t just business, but he also has to do it on a personal level as well.
With WWE delaying a match between Reigns and Daniel Bryan for the Universal Title, there’s speculation that WWE could book Owens vs. Reigns in a top match at the TLC pay-per-view event next month. That is not confirmed just yet.
Paul Heyman is a big fan of Bianca Belair and during a recent episode of WWE Talking Smack, he shared his take about “the EST of WWE.”
Heyman co-hosted the show alongside Kayla Braxton and Belair was a guest on the show that aired Saturday morning on the WWE Network. This is where Heyman let her know how much he respects what she can bring to the future of WWE.
“I would be remiss if I don’t also let Bianca know, and I think she knows this quite well, You’re the future of the women’s division and [future is] a word that is thrown around here a lot, but you are. You are an athlete with amazing credentials.
You bring those credentials and that credibility to WWE. What you do is truly worthy of the tagline ‘the EST of WWE.’ I am in awe of the magnitude of your talent. You know, my feelings about The Street Profits. Those same feelings of admiration are bestowed upon you as well and I think that you know that.”
WWE called up Belair from NXT to Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania 36. This was during Heyman’s tenure as executive director of RAW. Since that time, Heyman is no longer in this role as he was replaced by Bruce Prichard.
During this year’s Draft, Belair was moved over to Friday Night SmackDown from Monday Night RAW in the 2020 WWE Draft. She has picked up victories.
Paul Heyman’s time as the Executive Director of Raw will be remembered for the rise of a younger generation of talent and the wrestling veteran is said to be responsible for bringing talents such as Murphy into the spotlight.
The former ECW owner had an interview with TalkSport.com recently where he talked about a number of things and also opened up about his time as the head of the Red Brand.
Heyman first said that he is one of those people who enjoys the behind the scene aspect of wrestling as he does the on camera aspects. He went on to claim that working as the Executive Director of Raw was a career highlight for him:
“Working as the executive director of RAW was a career highlight for me. I enjoyed every single solitary minute of the job and the biggest reason I enjoyed it so much was because I got to work with so many insanely talented people, such as the names you mentioned.
I’m very proud of your accomplishments and very proud of the individuals themselves for the success that they have all achieved” said Paul Heyman, “through the greatness of the performances that they overdelivered.”
Apart from this, the associate of the current Universal Champion Roman Reigns also talked about the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, calling him ‘a god sent to WWE’ who will always be holding the secondary championship in the company.
Paul Heyman was appointed the Executive Director of Raw in June 2019. He stayed in the role for almost a year before being relieved from the position in June earlier this year.
Paul Heyman has described WWE Champion Drew McIntrye as a “god sent to WWE” during a recent interview with talkSPORT ahead of Sunday’s Survivor Series event.
Despite his high praise, however, Heyman stressed how McIntyre will always be the “biggest Superstar with the secondary championship.”
“The problem here is that Drew McIntyre is a god sent to WWE. A magnificent performer. A tremendous human being. A fantastic representative of the WWE brand,” Heyman explained. “He will end up with a championship reign that will be deserving of the Mount Rushmore of championship reigns.”
Heyman stated how the issue lies in McIntyre being the right guy, at the right place, but at the wrong time.
He explained his thought process, sharing how ” Drew McIntyre is always going to be the biggest superstar with the secondary championship because it’s not the championship that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the championship.”
According to Heyman, the “biggest single Superstar” in WWE right now is Roman Reigns. He believes that come this Sunday at Survivor Series, Reigns will demonstrate why he is the “most important champion” in WWE.
Paul Heyman shared how, as great as Drew McIntyre is, the WWE Champion will have to accept that he is simply secondary to the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
McIntyre recently defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship on Monday Night Raw. This victory means he will face off against Roman Reigns in a Champion vs. Champion matchup this Sunday at Survivor Series. Paul Heyman is set to accompany Reigns to ringside.
Paul Heyman has explained that, despite himself, Roman Reigns, and even Vince McMahon all wanting Reigns to turn heel sooner, “the timing was never right.”
Speaking with the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, Heyman opened up about how, despite Reigns’ interest in turning heel, he wasn’t ready for this kind of persona.
“Roman Reigns could not pull off this portrayal of the top star in the industry even a year ago. He wasn’t weathered enough, he wasn’t seasoned enough, and he wasn’t experienced enough,” Heyman explained. “He still looked too young. But now, you look at his face, you see some seasoning and some weathering.”
Heyman pointed to how Reigns was dominating Jey Uso during their Hell in a Cell bout. He highlighted how Reigns was demeaning Uso throughout, pointing to how he had done the exact same thing when they were kids.
Paul Heyman believes that Reigns didn’t look grizzled enough for his current Tribal Chief persona. Now, however, “you see the wars on his face” and the “pressure and the obligation and the responsibility and the accountability and the sheer burden” of his role and how it weighs on Reigns.
Roman Reigns is set for a Champion vs. Champion matchup against WWE Champion Randy Orton at Survivor Series. Paul Heyman will be ringside in support of Reigns for the bout.
Survivor Series takes place on November 22nd from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL.
In the late 1980s, Paul Heyman managed the Samoan Swat Team of Fatu and Samu in WCW. The team would later win WWF tag team titles as the Headshrinkers. Fatu would later be dubbed Rikishi and is the father of Jimmy & Jey Uso in WWE.
Following last night’s Hell in a Cell PPV, Paul Heyman commented on his history with the Anoa’i/Fatu wrestling dynasty:
Atn @WWEUniverse: Let's be very clear. I respect #RomanReigns' father #Sika and his Uncle #Afa and every member of his family, who were very good to me when they had no reason to be good to me except they appreciated my passion for this business. But business IS business! #Samoan
Afa and Sika appeared on the stage following Roman Reigns’ victory over Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell. They presented him with a traditional lei and embraced him as the Tribal Chief.
With Jey Uso saying “I Quit” last night at Hell in a Cell, him and his brother must now recognized Reigns as the Tribal Chief. Jey Uso recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet about the feud with his cousin.
“We showing you real emotion, we showing you feeling. You can put the Fiend with Roman, you can put Seth Rollins with Roman, whoever, whatever, whatever top guy they got, put him with Roman, I guaran-damn-tee you, uce, they didn’t pull out emotion, they didn’t pull out real feeling, they didn’t pull out storytelling the way me and uce did that thing.”
“Tell me you didn’t feel like you were watching a damn movie, you forgot you were watching wrestling,” he continued.
Paul Heyman continues to speak about his alliance with Roman Reigns on WWE television.
He did so yet again in an interview with Metro.UK. This is where Heyman noted that this partnership has been something in the works dating back to Reigns’ main roster debut in 2012 when he was a member of The Shield with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
“So this has been in the works ever since Roman Reigns debuted on the main roster and I would dare say this has been in the works since the day Roman Reigns was born.
So, what do I like about it? Every single solitary thing about it, I like. How long has it been in the works? Really since the beginning of time, as Roman Reigns knows it to be.”
WWE first started this pairing on the SmackDown episode following the SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August. Since that time, Reigns has become WWE Universal Champion.
Reigns will make his next title defense against his cousin, Jey Uso, this Sunday at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center. This will be a rematch from the Clash of Champions event.
While Paul Heyman is no longer the Executive Director of WWE Monday Night RAW, he has found himself in a good spot on SmackDown.
Heyman was paired with Roman Reigns back in August that ultimately led to not only Reigns making a big return at SummerSlam but also winning the Universal Title just one week later at Payback.
With Heyman being back on television, there’s been curious as to whether he has any influence on SmackDown creative.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that although there are some stars who he was high on, while in the role of Executive Director, and were recently moved to SmackDown, he doesn’t have any influence on those stars.
The report states that it’s just not Heyman’s job description any more to help with creative outside of Reigns’ storylines. It was noted that he’s willing to help when asked for input by wrestlers, but isn’t necessarily something he is asked to do by WWE.
Although Brock Lesnar isn’t under contract with WWE right now, the belief is that the two sides will agree on a new deal when WWE is able to hold big events again.
People have been wondering when we are gonna see Brock Lesnar back on WWE TV since his contract expired in April and his advocate Paul Heyman recently provided some updates on The Beast Incarnate’s status.
The former Raw Executive Director appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show where he talked about a number of things and also discussed the future of his client.
While Heyman ruled out a possible UFC return for the former Universal Champion, he explained that Lesnar’s return depends on a number of factors:
“It depends on if there’s a worthy challenger and enough box office appeal, right now, he’s very happy being a farmer and a magnificent father to his children.
However, if there’s something that WWE can offer that intrigues, motivates, or inspires Lesnar, and if the money is right and the business is solid, I’m sure he would be willing to do it,”
Why Lesnar Hasn’t Returned
Paul confirmed that the former UFC star remains a free agent after the expiry of his contract and he claimed that Brock’s comeback hasn’t happened because a worthy offer isn’t there:
“At this moment, it [a comeback] hasn’t happened because it [a worthy offer] isn’t there. Again, the world changes with the snap of a finger. It could be tomorrow when Lesnar says, ‘Oh, that intrigues me.’ Again, it’s not just a sound byte, but Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do.”
Paul Heyman has aligned himself with Roman Reigns in the absence of his long-term client and he has helped the Big Dog recapture the Universal title.
However, this dynamic will change when Brock Lesnar makes his return to WWE programming and it would be interesting to see which side Heyman picks when the Beast makes his comeback.
One of the first questions that came up was his removal as the Executive Director of WWE RAW. The change happened earlier this year as Heyman had been overseeing the creative for the RAW brand until Vince McMahon decided to make a change and Heyman was pulled from that role.
“I served at the pleasure of the Chairman Vince McMahon and there came a day I was no longer at the pleasure of the Chairman Vince McMahon. When I took the role of Executive Director, I made an agreement with Vince McMahon, I want this job as long as every morning Vince McMahon woke up, he said thank God or whatever deity he subscribes to Paul Heyman is looking after the store on Raw. And the day that Vince McMahon didn’t wake up and feel that way, I didn’t want the job anymore.”
He stated that he’s been in a similar role where McMahon wasn’t happy with him and it was a miserable existence. He said he didn’t want that.
“Apparently on that day on that given time and given moment, Vince didn’t wake up that morning thanking whatever deity he subscribes to that Paul Heyman was in charge of Raw. We left with a smile, a handshake, and a hug. Absolutely no harsh feelings and actually better feelings about each other because of the way that it ended because it’s ended miserably before.”
Heyman said that proof of his exit is a positive thing as it came down to McMahon’s comments on an earnings call shortly after the move was made. He recalled McMahon stating that he thought Heyman did a great job instead of saying something like they needed someone with a new vision.
“My run in terms of serving at the pleasure of the chairman was up and then this opportunity presented itself both for me, for Roman and for WWE and we all jumped on it.”
After a few months of Heyman being on the sidelines, he was paired with Roman Reigns.
WWE got fans talking when they paired Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman together on television.
It didn’t take “The Big Dog” long to find success with Heyman at his side.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE has plans to make the pairing have a dynamic as different as possible from Heyman’s pairing with Lesnar, who is good friends with Heyman. Meltzer pointed out how Lesnar smiled at his promos, laughed at his jokes, and long-time fans knew the relationship dated back to 2002.
When it comes to his pairing with Reigns, it’s the opposite as there is no friendship and the idea is that Reigns is in charge of the relationship. There’s also the idea of how Heyman was done in wrestling with Lesnar gone and had nothing left until he was approached by Reigns. Thus, Heyman feels that Reigns saved his career.
Meltzer noted that there will be catchphrases such as “Reigning, defending, undisputed champion.” There will also be a designation of him as the Special Counsel and Reigns will be the Tribal Chief.
This was said to be a takeoff on Peter Maivia’s role in Samoan culture in the 70s.
Controversial former WWE/TNA/WCW writer Vince Russo recently commented on Paul Heyman and his promo style. Russo was hugely critical of Heyman’s recent SmackDown segment, where he explained why he and Roman Reigns were now aligned.
“With the actual product on TV? Like who gives a sh*? There’s nothing to talk about. There’s nothing interesting, you know?” Vince Russo began on his 8 Days a Week podcast.
Vince Russo on Paul Heyman
“I caught up with Smackdown over the weekend and there’s nothing to talk about at all. I swear to God I wanted to put my head through a wall with Paul Heyman’s promo on SmackDown” Russo continued. “This is wrestling, the guy’s carrying on like he’s in some kind of Shakespearean act with his pauses, his facials and his hands.”
Vince Russo would then make a direct attack at Heyman, saying the he ‘can’t stand’ seeing him on WWE programming. Although Heyman’s work is widely praised by fans and critics alike, Russo believes that Heyman has cut the ‘same’ promo for the past 30 years and is stale.
“Paul, it’s freaking wrestling bro! You’ve cut the same promo for 30 freaking years now” Russo stated. “I’m just gonna say this, I can’t stand hearing you. I can’t stand listening to you. I can’t stand looking at you. You’re carrying on in a wrestling promo like it’s freakin Glengarry Glen Ross bro.”
Russo would finish by lambasting Heyman further for his presentation. “It’s horrible, with your exaggeration of words and your pace and the like. Who gives a sh*t, bro? It’s freaking fake phoney stupid ass wrestling. Nobody freaking cares bro”
Did you enjoy Paul Heyman’s recent promo on SmackDown explaining his relationship with Roman Reigns? Check it out below and let us know in the comments
Paul Heyman was removed from his role as Executive Director of WWE RAW earlier this summer. Heyman has since returned as an on-screen character and the advocate for Roman Reigns. According to a report from Fightful, however, Heyman isn’t just being used as an on-screen character.
Heyman is said to be heavily involved in the creative process regarding Roman Reigns and his recent heel turn. This includes the segment where Heyman was revealed as his advocate, the main event of Payback, and Reigns’ recent promo on Smackdown. Heyman has been involved in everything regarding Roman’s return.
The situation is said to be similar to Heyman’s role helping with creative for Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
WWE RAW Said To Be “Falling Apart” Without Paul Heyman
According to Garry Cassidy of Sportskeeda, one source stated to him that RAW is “falling apart” without Paul Heyman at the helm.
Last night’s episode of RAW was said to be rewritten shortly before the show again. There were no matches announced for the broadcast until just before the show aired. The reported reason as to why no matches were announced ahead of time is that it was not clear what would be happening until just before it started.
One of the bigger pieces of news to come out this week was the pairing of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.
It’s been reported that WWE had plans to give Reigns more of an edgier side coming out of WrestleMania 36 where he was supposed to beat Goldberg for the Universal Title. That didn’t happen as Reigns went on hiatus.
Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that the reason for the alliance between the two men was due to WWE needing to justify the big-money contract that Heyman has.
t was also done as a way to cement Reigns’ heel turn. Heyman hadn’t been used on television since WrestleMania and there’s no word on when Lesnar is expected to return. Thus, Heyman was being paid without working.
It should be noted that Heyman did have two different deals with WWE – one for being a performer and the other being for the role of RAW Executive Director. Of course, Heyman lost on the second deal when Vince McMahon decided to remove him.
With such grand plans that WWE has for Reigns as a heel, it made sense to pair Heyman with him another big star.
Nearly 24 hours after WWE showed that Paul Heyman had secured his latest client, Roman Reigns commented on the pairing.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown, Vince McMahon instructed producer Adam Pearce to get the contract for the No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match at the Payback pay-per-view event signed by Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Bray Wyatt.
The last few minutes of the broadcast that aired on FOX saw Reigns and Heyman sitting together in the backstage area. Reigns stated that he would get back his Universal Title and how it wasn’t a prediction, but rather a spoiler. By watching the segment, it was pretty clear that Heyman is now advocating for Reigns.
On Saturday, Reigns took to Twitter where he responded to a tweet by Heyman by writing, “Been waiting on this for a long time. Here we go!!”
This marked Heyman’s first appearance on WWE programming since WrestleMania 36 when Brock Lesnar dropped the WWE Title to Drew McIntyre.
It was likely the first time that Heyman was also backstage at a WWE event since McMahon decided to end Heyman’s tenure as the RAW Executive Director a few months ago.
Various people related to the wrestling industry have been reacting to the news of Renee Young leaving WWE since the news broke yesterday and one of the surprising reactions came from Paul Heyman.
The former Raw Executive Director took on his Twitter to comment on the departure of the female star saying that she brought out the best in everyone she worked with.
Heyman continued the praise on Instagram as well and the ECW founder said that he is forever indebted to Young for her on-screen generosity and trust:
“She always brought out the very best in everyone she worked with, and I am forever indebted to her for her on-screen generosity and trust. I look forward to whatever projects she chooses to grace with her passion and personality and thank her for the opportunity to work with such a professional.”
The news broke today that @ReneeYoungWWE will be leaving @WWE to pursue other dreams.
Renee Young has been with WWE since 2012 and she has worked her way up from NXT to the main roster and from being a backstage interviewer to one of the prominent faces of the WWE broadcast team.
Reports suggest that she will be working the SummerSlam PPV. Though there is no word yet on when she will wrap her duties with the promotion or what she is planning for her future.
Paul Heyman has resurfaced in a new video promoting his role in the new WWE 2K Battlegrounds video game.
Heyman served as the Executive Director of WWE Raw from June ’19-’20. WWE opted to consolidated its writing teams, with Bruce Prichard serving as the head.
Heyman is a focal point of the 2K Battlegrounds Career mode of the arcade-style brawler. In the video seen below, Heyman holds ‘story time’ running down the different game modes.
“The world of WWE is your battleground with all-new, over the top, in-your-face arcade action as your favorite WWE Superstars and Legends battle it out in outlandish interactive environments around the world,” reads a description of the game.
WWE 2K Battlegrounds is set to be released on September 18th, 2020 for major video game consoles.
RAW Ratings Since Paul Heyman’s Departure
The ratings for RAW increased for 2 weeks after Heyman was removed from the creative team. They have since fallen to numbers below what they had been during Heyman’s time as Executive Director of the brand.
June 7th, 2020 was the last RAW with Heyman in charge. It did 1.737 million viewers and a 0.52 in the key demo. Typical ratings for the show in his last couple of months in charge hovered around the same numbers. RAW ratings in July then slipped to around 1.6 million and below a 0.5 in the key demo. They have increased the last two weeks, however, with numbers again hovering around 1.7 million viewers and a 0.5 in the key demo.
AJ Styles confessed that the reason he requested to move to SmackDown was because he “couldn’t stand looking” at Heyman. He stressed how he “just can’t stand a liar.”
He explained how, as grown men, he couldn’t understand why Heyman felt the need to lie. This led his feelings of animosity to grow to the point where, if an opportunity presented itself on SmackDown, he was willing to jump at it.
AJ Styles: WWE Talent Despise Paul Heyman
AJ Styles shared how fans wouldn’t believe how many people “despise” Paul Heyman because of his lies. He then claimed that Heyman would “find ways to throw them under the bus when he screwed up.”
According to Styles, Heyman would do this so they would get in trouble instead of him. It’s a claim Styles said he’s heard from “several, several different people.” He added how it was hard to find someone who actually liked Heyman.
“I didn’t know this, I just assumed everybody liked him and I was the only one. Vince is a very smart man and he can see through a lot of crap and I think he finally saw what everybody already knew and said ‘you know what man, you’ve done some great things in the past [but] you’re just not well-liked here, maybe hit the bricks. We’ll let you be the advocate for Brock Lesnar. You do it well, you can’t deny that. He’s good at that. I think that’s as far as it needs to go.'”
AJ Styles on Paul Heyman: "I talked to a lot of guys about this situation and you wouldn't believe how many people that I worked with despise this guy because of his lies…. It was almost kinda hard to find someone who liked him." pic.twitter.com/ZvhugqoGq3
AJ Styles then stated how the only person Heyman can blame is himself:
“Just don’t lie to people man. This is the business that he, I don’t want to say grew up in but found a way to be successful in – probably by lying. I’m not the first guy to say this, as I found out.”
AJ Styles has previously shared how he believed Heyman recommended that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson be released by WWE as a cost-cutting measure due to COVID-19.
Brock Lesnar hasn’t wrestled since dropping the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania this year. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are no plans for him to come back anytime soon either.
“Lesnar is not scheduled for this year’s SummerSlam show. One of the reasons he put over McIntyre so strongly was because he was not coming back any time soon,” wrote Dave Meltzer. The report continued to note that Lesnar’s manager/advocate, Paul Heyman, has not been on the show since being let go as the head of creative for RAW.
With Lesnar not returning for SummerSlam, it appears the most likely main event for the show will be Drew McIntyre defending against Randy Orton.
“Most signs point to McIntyre vs. Orton as the SummerSlam main event,” Meltzer continued.
McIntyre is scheduled to defend his title on Sunday at the Horror Show at Extreme Rules. He’ll be facing Dolph Ziggler on the card. Ziggler will announce a stipulation for the match just before it begins.
Randy Orton is currently in a feud with the Big Show on RAW. They are scheduled to face-off in an unsanctioned match next week on the show.
Paul Heyman was removed from the WWE creative team last week. The former Executive Director of RAW is still under a performer’s contract with the company, however. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, the USA Network was not happy with the change.
“Evidently those at the network did not find out much ahead of the rest of the world of the change, and were not happy with the news,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
According to the report, both Paul Heyman and the USA Network were supportive of the idea that new stars had to be created on RAW. The idea being was that the names on top were getting older.
Heyman looked to push several wrestlers during his 11-months in charge of RAW’s creative. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander were each pushed at one point. They were then put in a tag-team together. Aleister Black was another talent Heyman was said to be high on. Shayna Baszler was apparently taken off of television recently by Vince McMahon.
Shayna Baszler Taken Off Of Television?
Vince McMahon apparently made the move to take Shayna Baszler off of television recently.
“It will be obvious very quickly what talent McMahon didn’t want pushed over the next month. Aside from Baszler, who McMahon had taken off television weeks ago, the jury is still out on most,” Meltzer wrote regarding Vince’s take on Baszler.
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently commented on the creative direction of the company on his Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. The ‘Big Guy’ talked about Paul Heyman being removed as the Executive Director of RAW; plus the reasons he feels the company made that decision.
Ryback on Paul Heyman
“Vince [McMahon] is in control at the end of the day” Ryback would begin. “Heyman? Even with the little issues that I had with him from a personal standpoint and working together? He’s a creative individual, and I knew that being down at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Heyman had some good stuff down there.”
Ryback then claimed that anyone in that position with WWE ends up being Vince McMahon’s ‘bitch.’ “The problem is when…anybody who gets put in that position up there? You’re just Vince’s bitch. You’re going to work non stop, your stress level is going to go through the roof and your blood pressure is going to go through the roof. You are that much closer to a heart attack each and every day.”
The ‘Big Guy’ elaborated further, saying “you draw your best pictures and he [Vince] just rips it up and says ‘draw me another picture! Draw me another picture!’ There’s only so much you can do. Out of 100% of your ideas? You might see 10% make it to TV, but even that 10% is not your true 10%. It’s just Vince taking whatever scraps he takes from it to put out there.”
Do you think that Paul Heyman being removed from the position of Executive Director was a mistake? Let us know in the comments
It turns out that there’s more to the decision to move AJ Styles from Monday Night RAW to Friday Night SmackDown.
Last month, in an unexpected move, WWE announced that Styles was officially traded to SmackDown. A new report has shed some light on this situation and it involves former RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted on the message board of F4Wonline that Styles “was furious” over Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson being released.
Per Meltzer, Styles reportedly blamed Heyman for their releases. Of course, Heyman doesn’t make the decision to release talent, but rather WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
Styles probably felt that Heyman could have fought McMahon over that decision, according to Meltzer.
Anderson and Gallows are now free agents as WWE released them back in April alongside several other talent and staff who were part of the mass firings due to budget cuts related to the coronavirus impacting their business.
As noted, Heyman was removed as the head of creative for RAW this past Thursday as Bruce Prichard will now take over in addition to his responsibilities with SmackDown.
However, Heyman still has a WWE performer’s contract and will remain as the advocate of Brock Lesnar on television.
The fallout from the big shift in the creative for WWE RAW after Paul Heyman’s removal continues.
WWE announced earlier this week that Heyman has stepped down as RAW Executive Director to focus on his on-screen role while Bruce Prichard will now be in charge of both RAW and SmackDown. Vince McMahon made the decision for the change.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the USA Network, which airs RAW, is very unhappy with the change. He noted that the network wasn’t happy with the drop in ratings, but understood the reason behind it and knew months ago that this was a rebuilding period, which takes time.
RAW ratings had been dropping week-over-week, but not a huge drop as they did once WWE was forced to move shows to the Performance Center in front of no fans due to the coronavirus.
For those who are wondering, Monday’s episode of RAW has already been taped, which means no changes to booking will be made at least on that show. However, plans in place by Heyman for the RAW roster at the Backlash pay-per-view event could be changed regarding outcomes.
It’s been reported that Heyman had originally said that it would take eighteen months or longer to build new stars. Clearly, McMahon felt that a change needed to be made.
